Bark Pots At The Anchorage

Bark Pots at the Anchorage

A set of bark pots of late 18th-century date, with a single additional bark pot of 20th-century date, located at Beadnell on Harbour Road.

The main structure is rectangular in plan, oriented east to west, and constructed of sandstone. It contains the remains of at least three deep circular cast iron pots set into its top surface. Beneath each pot are rectangular flue holes where fires were set to heat the contents. Two rebuilt brick chimneys are located to the rear at the east end. A separate detached sandstone structure stands at the east end, featuring a brick flue and a square steel pot set in concrete, dating to the early or mid-20th century. Two additional cast iron pots are set into the ground to the rear of the main structure.

These pots were used for steeping fishing line, nets, sails and related equipment in a tannin solution to preserve them. The solution was produced by boiling water with tannin-rich substances, originally derived from oak bark (hence the name 'bark'). This practice was common in fishing communities around England during the late 18th and 19th centuries. From the later 19th century, fishermen began using 'cutch', derived from tropical plant sap, and later the pots were used to prepare tar for the same purpose.

The late 18th-century pots were built at the same time as a group of fishermen's cottages known as Fisher Square, now demolished. They are recorded on the First Edition 25-inch Ordnance Survey map of around 1860, which also depicts a second, shorter structure to the rear that no longer survives. A single additional bark pot was added in the early to mid-20th century, continuing the tradition of preserving fishing equipment.

Beadnell Haven itself is a man-enhanced natural opening in the rocks providing access to a sandy beach where boats could be hauled out of the water. The Northumberland fishing industry originated in medieval times and became concentrated at small ports including Beadnell. From the late 18th century onwards, east coast herring fishing became increasingly dominant nationally, exploiting the regular southward migration of large herring shoals from Northumberland in mid-summer to East Anglia by early autumn.